Celebrating 33 years of service! Exciting international cultural tours for citizen diplomats and peacemakers. Featuring home and school visits, Embassy visits, cultural exchanges, as well as highlights and pretrip study material.

Top Guides • Small Groups of both Men and WomenDiscover the world so you can make a difference!

"The only things I own which are still worth what they cost me are my travel memories, the mind pictures of places which I have seen which I have been hoarding like a happy miser for more than a half a century."

NEW TOUR ADDED: The Northwest & Caspian combined with Treasures of Iran led by Mr. Bahman Zenhari is now scheduled for September 1 - 18, 2018. Click here to view the itinerary. (updated 2/19/2018)

As of 1/24/18News from Ethiopia

Gwen sends greetings home from Ethiopia and several pictures. Find more that we've posted on our Facebook page here.

Gwen with Yohannes at Timkat

Group on the road to Simien National Park

Yohannes and Laurene at Timkat

Mike at Blue Nile Falls

An Ethiopian girl at a wedding near Gondar

Handicrafts for sale

Carol at Jewish Temple

Group inside Gondar

See the full Ethiopia itinerary here http://www.serioustraveler.com/Ethiopia1.html#Jan18

As of 12/23/17

As of 11/15/17News from Iran

Here's what our travelers said upon their return from Iran yesterday:

This was a wonderful and unique travel experience that I will treasure. Great itinerary, fabulous guide who treated us like family and incredible shopping.

Barbara

The meals Bahman ordered or recommended were always good choices and everyone seemed to find their favorite(s). Needless to say we all pretty much got addicted to the saffron ice cream.

I am so glad that a friend gave me your company information so many years ago (before she stopped traveling due to health issues) as I don't think we could have had a better Iranian experience with another company and with anyone except Bahman. He really made the trip.

This was a wonderful and unique travel experience that I will treasure. Great itinerary, fabulous guide who treated us like family and incredible shopping.

Barbara

The meals Bahman ordered or recommended were always good choices and everyone seemed to find their favorite(s). Needless to say we all pretty much got addicted to the saffron ice cream.

I am so glad that a friend gave me your company information so many years ago (before she stopped traveling due to health issues) as I don't think we could have had a better Iranian experience with another company and with anyone except Bahman. He really made the trip.

The Iceland Circumnavigation brochure is now complete. Click here to view the itinerary. (updated 10/24/2017)

The brochure India's Spring Festivals & Tea in the Himalayas is now complete. Click here to view the itinerary. (updated 10/18/2017)

As of 10/17/17News from France

"We’ve had beautiful scenery, good food and camaraderie. Yesterday we rode along the canal by bike. Each morning the river and canals are covered by fog which lifts about 10. The weather has been amazingly beautiful as you [see] from the pictures." -Gwen

The Persian Classics brochure is now complete. Click here to view the itinerary. (updated 5/26/2017)

The Treasures of Iran brochure is now complete. Click here to view the itinerary. (updated 5/26/2017)

As of 5/16/17News from France

"We’ve had a good start and are sending pictures to Phi Mu. We’ve had two beautiful days of sunshine and now a rainy morning. Two days of rain to come and then sunshine again on Saturday onward we think. Barge and crew are very good. Excellent food of course." -Gwen

Our Phi Mu Foundation group on the MS Jeannine in the Champagne region of France.

Look for our latest ad in the June 2016 issue of Travel + Leisure Magazine

"News from the Serious Traveler"

Posted 3/21/2016

Welcoming Spring Around the World and New Year in Iran

From ancient times March 20 or 21 has been recognized as the spring equinox, when the sun crosses the celestial equator and equalizes night and day, or when the Sun leaves the zodiac of Pisces and enters the zodiacal sign of Aries. In Iran, the exact astronomical moment, to the second, is called “Saal Tahvil”. The beginning of the spring ushers in the start of the Iranian New Year, No-Rooz, which means “New Day”.

Nowruz has been celebrated by people from diverse ethnic communities and religious backgrounds for thousands of years. It is a secular holiday that originated in Persia but is also celebrated by cultural regions that came under Iranian influence or had migrations by Persians including Azerbaijan, the North Caucasus, Kurdish inhabited regions of eastern Turkey and Northern Iraq, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and other scattered populations in Central Asia.

Nowruz is partly rooted in the religious tradition of Zoroastrianism, the first monotheistic religion, which holds a belief in the struggle between good and evil in the world, and the connection of humans to nature. Good thoughts, good words, good deeds! Zoroastrian practices were dominant for much of the history of ancient Persia (centered in what is now Iran). Nowruz is also a holy day for Sufi Muslims, Bektashis, Ismailis, Alawites, Alevis, Babis and adherents of the Bahá'í Faith.

One of the traditions is spreading a serving table with specific foods associated with Nowruz: noodles for untying life’s complications, fresh herbs for rebirth, eggs for fertility, and fish for life. Most people used to place Qoran on their Sofreh (spread) in order to bless the New Year. But some people found another alternative to Qoran and replaced it by the Divan-e Hafez (poetry book of Hafez), and during "Saal Tahvil" reading some verses from it was popular. Nowadays, a great number of Iranians are placing the Shahnameh (the Epic of Kings) of Ferdowsi on their spread as an Iranian national book. They believe that Shahnameh has more Iranian identity values and spirits, and is much more suitable for this ancient celebration.

The UN's General Assembly in 2010 recognized the International Day of Nowruz, describing it as a spring festival of Persian origin, which has been celebrated for over 3,000 years.

Partly from the Iran Gazette…

"News from the Serious Traveler"

Posted 3/14/2016

In case you forgot to congratulate your friends on March 8th, here's a
belated International Women's Day greeting from Moscow. Maslenitsa is the End of Winter (Butter) Festival. Do you recognize our guide and dear friend Ludmila?

"News from the Serious Traveler"

Posted 2/29/2016

Look for our latest ad in the March 2016 and April 2016 issues of Smithsonian Magazine

"News from the Serious Traveler"

As of 2/14/2016News from Ethiopia

Greetings from Ethiopia!
Below are a couple pictures from our arrival day in Addis Ababa and visits to museums. Also, here is a youtube video of Lake Tana in Bahirdar http://youtu.be/qFNillGimX0. - Gwen

Click for larger view

"News from the Serious Traveler"

Posted 1/18/2016

Look for our latest ad in the February 2016 issue of Travel + Leisure Magazine

"News from the Serious Traveler"

As of 12/4/2015News from Cuba

"It was a good trip and a nice group (size and personality wise) and we really lucked out with our local guide, Israel (in the photo with Oscar)." - Claire S.

Click for larger view

Dear Friends,

Happy Thanksgiving Day! We wish you health, happiness and positive vibes! Be grateful to all the good people you meet in your life and generous to all those in need. Share kindness to strangers and love to friends and family. Explore, travel and find the meaning behind. And let us not forget - if we have plenty, let us not build higher fences, but bigger tables.

Look for our latest ad in the November 2015 issue of Travel + Leisure Magazine

"News from the Serious Traveler"

Posted 9/23/2015

Look for our latest ad in the October 2015 issue of Smithsonian Magazine

"News from the Serious Traveler"

Posted 7/23/2015News from Iran

"[They are] very happy and will be even happier after visiting Isfahan and going to north part of Iran. Yersterday snd today were great days and you were very much missed." - Bahman

Click for larger view

"News from the Serious Traveler"

Posted 7/16/2015News from France

"Gwen, Thanks for another amazing trip." - Liza

2015 Phi Mu Foundation group photo by Liza S. aboard the Princesse on the Loire River

Click for larger view

"News from the Serious Traveler"

Posted 5/23/2015

Look for our latest ad in the June 2015 issue of The Atlantic Magazine

"News from the Serious Traveler"

Posted 2/17/2015

Look for our latest ad in the March 2015 issue of Travel + Leisure Magazine

"News from the Serious Traveler"

Posted 12/22/2014

News from Cuba

“Just returned from Cuba in November 2014” - Linda B.

Images from Linda (click for larger view):

Hello Gwen,

I've been meaning to write you and what better time than this historic day! Don't you wish you were there now to hear the church bells ringing? I had a wonderful time on the tour. I was glad to stay again at the Parque Centro as it is efficient and so nicely situated in Habana. Our guides Oscar and Lazaro were accommodating in every way, from the moment we met until our farewell at the airport. I enjoyed the architectural focus to this tour as well as the memorable people-people exchanges. The presenters and lectures were fascinating, and always piqued curiosity and further interest in this beautiful country and its people. As for our meals, we had delicious cuisine in friendly places. (My top favorite was the Vinales farm-table restaurant ). I want to thank Serious Traveler team for accommodating my dietary preferences. I tried to be low-key about it and Oscar was most helpful in communicating to the restaurant staff on my behalf. I had very good meals and found that the restaurants were more than happy to create and prepare a plant-based/ non-dairy entree.

I was able to make some music connections from colleagues in the States. I'm attaching a video of Cato, a well-known and respected Tres player in Havana. Aimee and I ventured down to the Cohiba Hotel one night to hear a jazz group recommended by another Cuban musician that I connected with in Havana.

I took almost 900 photos and 4 little videos. I am now in the process of sorting through them. Unfortunately, I brought a new camera with me and when I returned home, found that it was not the quality I had expected. But I have photos, even if they're not too sharp, and great memories of Cuba 2014!

"The people here are just delightful! When they ask me where I am from and I say, 'America, USA', they reply, 'We love America!' If only everyone was able to travel as I do! Just getting to know people makes you understand what a small world it is. Bahman is doing well with us, and we have a great driver. It is really a delux trip having such a small group. Cheers, Carol"

See the itinerary as they travel through Bulgaria Click here
Travel with us on this tour in 2012 Click here

"News from the Serious Traveler"

April 20, 2011
Greetings from Lebanon! We arrived from Syria yesterday afternoon after crossing the border, visiting Baalbek (a huge and amazing Roman city), stopping for lunch of famous Lebanese mezze and more, a taste of wine and tour through caves dating from the Roman period and then crossing the mountains, out of the clouds down to Beirut on the coast of a shimmering Mediterranean Sea. We just completed our first day of sightseeing that took us to the National Museum where we learned about the Phoenicians who had the first phonetic alphabet (get it -- Phoenicians-phonetic?); then to a mountain riddled with subterranean caves. Jetta is vying with a couple dozen other natural sites for the new 7 natural wonders of the world, and all agreed it should be included (along with the Grand Canyon and Halong Bay.) A stop at Byblos was amazing too. The site dates back to the third millennium BC, as do many other sites in what we know as the Cradle of Civilization along the Fertile Crescent. This area is the fabled birthplace of the Greek god Adonis. A city tour revealed stunning new buildings with the most exclusive shops side by side with excavations from Roman times. The city is also riddled with reminders of devastating wars. No one here wants another, and the neighboring Syrians don't either.

Every day has been a delight and we wish everyone who had intended to go with us, was actually here. It is close to midnight, and we head north to the Cedars of Lebanon tomorrow morning. The group is most congenial and we lingered over dinner, while Paulette and others regaled us with amusing travel stories. Even the national basketball team who was sharing the lovely dining room at the Radisson couldn?t ignore our laughter. Our travelers are the best. I must turn in, but will try to write more later. The same Paulette has taken hundreds of pictures and Ann had volunteered to edit them, so eventually we will put our experiences in writing and into a slideshow. Right now we are drinking up all the wonderful sensations of travel to new places.

Gwen

Photo by Paulette Lewis. View all the photos by Paulette in Syria Click Here or in Lebanon Click Here